opening a studio

[scottalanphoto]

I found a really great deal on some lease space (or at least I think it's a great deal)... I was wondering if anyone had any tips, hints, suggestions on opening a photography studio!

Thanks,
Scott

[ShaneKislack]

A fair price on a great location is better than a great price on a fair location.

[WarrenG]

Scott,

Opening a studio can be a very satisfying experience however, one immediate red flag came up when you mentioned "at least I think it is a great deal". My concern here would be that I am unsure if you performed any due diligence on the location? Do you know what your anticipated ROI is? Have you done any traffic counts to get an ide of what type of customer base frequents the location, and if so, are you targeting a specific customer or is your customer base large enough that they would travel to this location? Have you thought out what type of tennant improvements will be required in order to create a studio? How is the air circulation, security, changing rooms, restrooms, electrical, signage, etc?

I would also strongly urge that you factor in the insurance costs for commercial property, as they will be higher than what you pay at home. I took a gander at your website, and based on the equipment you currently have I would anticipate spending quite a bit more on: Lighting, backdrop systems, props, seating for clients, etc.

Could you grow into many of these items as you business grows...Maybe? But, I would urge you to ask yourself these questions: 1) What is my start up capitol and do i have it? 2) How many clients do I need each month to "pay the bills" and still put a little jingle in my pocket?

I cannot begin to assume that I know your client base and revenue, but, I can offer you my few cents....Photography is a very rewarding business but at the same time it is a very competitive business. I would love to have a full time studio but the fact of the matter is I have nowhere close to the return business to keep myself out of the red, let alone see any black. To be profitable, I would need to keep my studio filled as an empty studio equates to empty pockets. I would assume thats why many studios rent out there locations to other photogs...so as to keep revenue coming in when things are a little slow (god knows I have done my fair share of helping with their burden) of course.

I hope this email does not come across negatively... I just wanted to bring up a few items for you to consider if you have not yet done so. I hope you find the answers your seeking and wish you all the luck!

Cheers,

Warren

[scottalanphoto]

hey warren... thanks for your advice... the space is 200 a month and less than a mile away from a high school, little league baseball fields and a few churches are also in the area... a couple miles down on the same road is a wal mart... i plan on getting another alienbee 800 and at least one more muslin background.... im consistantly adding to my props collection... the lady who owns the building said the electric is 15 bucks a month or so... she pays it herself and bills the tennants seperately... all that needs to be done is paint on the walls... clean the carpet and entry way... and then signage on the store front :)

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by scottalanphoto

I found a really great deal on some lease space (or at least I think it's a great deal)... I was wondering if anyone had any tips, hints, suggestions on opening a photography studio!

Thanks,
Scott

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you have to ask that question in this venue then you are probably not ready for a studio. Consider this as your "Dutch Uncle" speaking with you. There are so many costs in running a location that unless you have $300.00 to $400.00 of extra "play money" each month, you are probably setting yourself up for a disaster. I have owned several studios in the past 35 years and I know what it costs to have one (or two).

I have to concur with Warren that you need much more information before taking this big of a leap. If you decide to do it anyway, sign a six month lease with another six month option and pay the entire first six months up front. If you don't have that much stashed away you are not ready to do this yet. This is from someone who had to pay 14 months in advance to get my first studio space and that was the only thing that kept me from going bankrupt after four months.

[PictureCow]

So hey... if you want to be in business then yes!! Open a studio but do all the leg work that is involved. Don couldn't be more right. There are all kinds of expenses that you can't project. I had three years of income set aside before I opened my studio. I'm in year three and just now starting to see a profit.

There is so much more than just finding a good spot. You need to figure out your costs of goods and services. You need to get your pricing in order. Have a marketing plan and MOST important a business plan.

[picasso]

I agree with the above statements and take what I say with a grain of salt but, it sounds like the price is right. Your rent is $200 a month. If you have $200 month expendable income and can shoot enough photos to pay utilities, insurance etc... then, it won't cost you much to do it. Its not like you said you are opening a studio and signing a 5 year lease for $3000 a month or anything like that. If I could find a deal like you got on space I would jump on it in a heart beat keep my day job and only use it on the weekends. I say go for it and the best of luck to you.

Paul

[scottalanphoto]

thanks for all of the responses... yes, i will be mainly using it a couple of afternoons during the week and then on the weekends.... i've already been getting enough business to cover costs.... i think having an actual location will help business as well. thanks again for all of your responses!!!

[sbp]

Any business has hidden costs.
what about security alarms? water bill, cleaning, signs, printing, credit card swipe machine, bank charge, insurance, electric, more tables, chairs, more background, more lighting, locks, and many more.

But it is good that you are thinking and there are always risk but if we don't take risk how will we find out what goes wrong.

[Aric C. Hoek]

If you love photography, then the opening of a studio becomes an emotional decision as well as a financial one. The financial aspect of the decision making process should take the front seat, as you do not want photography to become something you hate.

The PPA recently ran a survey giving photographers new bench-marks on what percentage of their gross income should be spent on different expenditures. You will need to be a member of the PPA to get your hands on this material, so I can’t post the results here.

Lets try to look at the repercussions of owning and operating a successful studio on a very simple level. Lets use the example of a wedding photographer.

Lets keep this simple. Say you are a wedding photographer that charges $2000 per wedding. This covers your time, a DVD, and an online gallery for your client. Albums are additional. Total cost for you to produce this base product is $20 (DVD and Online Gallery), minus your time, wear and tear, travel, and everything else you can think of.

Now lets say that your annual advertising expenditure is currently 8000 per year and that you average 30 weddings per year.

8000 / 30 = $267

$267 of each wedding you book is going into advertising. Now do the same with your rent. Lets say your monthly rent is $1000. Multiply that by 12 months and you get $1200.
1200 / 30 = $400

Continue to add all of your business expenses this way. When you are done with that, then you can add all of your personal expenses as well.

How much from each $2000 wedding is left? How much from each $2000 wedding is being spent before you actually get to keep any money for yourself? It becomes very clear very fast that the sale of a wedding album with each wedding is desperately needed! What about the sale of parent albums? Add in engagement sessions and bridal sessions and portraits from these sessions and you are on your way. You do want to frame those portraits don’t you? Now try selling a guest book for each wedding as well. And don’t forget any residual sales that you may receive after the wedding is over from your online gallery. Make sure to include a gift certificate for a free maternity session with the delivery of each wedding album as well. All these things can bring you into an area of profit.

I can say that before I had a studio, things were much easier, but now I am constantly looking for ways to increase my sales average per customer, where as before I was mostly concerned with increasing the volume of weddings I was shooting annually. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to increase my volume. In fact, this June I am bringing on a full time photographer. I know I can bring on a full time photographer because I counted the number of weddings I had referred out last year because I was already booked on the date in question.

You will find that you will always be looking for ways to increase your volume and the average sale per customer. For me, the opening of a studio really forced me to deal with these issues, and I had to deal with them very quickly or bad things were going to happen.

Make sure you have all of the product you need before you open a studio. Don’t open your studio only to find out that you need to be making much more money. While location is very important, so is timing. Have all your products ready to sell to your customers before you sign on the dotted line.

Since the opening of my studio, my wife has given birth to twins, which of course completely changes the equation and I now have new ambitious goals of a large supply of working capital.

Hope this helps, and good luck! I say follow your dreams and open that studio! For me, I knew I would not feel complete until I had a studio set up the way I wanted.

OH. One more thing. Here is what I would have done differently. My studio is in an office building and I have 3.5 more years on my lease. I really wish I would have had the money when opening to have my own building and my own property. Yes so I would have been creating equity, but there is another reason. A sign on the street.

We have so many ways to block advertising now with junk mail filters, tivo, satellite radio, a garbage can… the list goes on and on. I really believe that the best form of advertising for me in the future will be a sign in the front of my studio. One that people can’t help to see as they drive by day after day. A sign worthy of the Vegas Strip.

[Graydon]

This thread might need to become sticky in the Biz Talk area.

I'm sure that many members have in the back of their head some thoughts about how great it would be to open a studio (the thoughts crossed my mind). In 10 posts, this one gets at the heart of the matter (as well as the pocketbook).

With some additional input from other current studio operators or those going through the process, it would be a timeless resource.

Thanks to all for the information.